Electrical connector having improved housing and method of making the same

Abstract

An electrical connector ( 100 ) includes a pair of modules ( 3 ) each including a row of terminals ( 31 ) and a first housing ( 32 ) insert molded with the terminals, a metal plate ( 1 ) sandwiched between the pair of modules, a pair of latches affixed to the metal plate, and a second housing over molded with the pair of modules, the metal plate, and the pair of latches to form a subassembly. Each terminal includes a securing portion ( 312 ) secured to the first housing, a soldering portion ( 313 ) extending rearwardly from the first housing, and a contacting beam ( 311 ) cantilevered forwardly from the first housing.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrical connector comprising:
 a pair of modules each including a row of terminals and a first housing insert molded with the terminals, each terminal including a securing portion secured to the first housing, a soldering portion extending rearwardly from the first housing, and a contacting beam cantilevered forwardly from the first housing; 
 a metal plate sandwiched between the pair of modules, said metal plate having a pair of affixed portions formed at opposite sides thereof; 
 a pair of latches affixed to the metal plate, each latch being formed with an engaging portion; and 
 a second housing over molded with the pair of modules, the metal plate, and of the pair of latches to form a subassembly, said second housing being over molded at the engaging portions of the latches and the affixed portions of the metal plate. 
 
     
     
       2. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said contacting beams of the terminals extend forwardly beyond the second housing, and the metal plate has a front end extending forwardly from the second housing to suspend between the contacting beams of the terminals of the pair of modules along an top-to-bottom direction. 
     
     
       3. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said engaging portions latch with the affixed portions. 
     
     
       4. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said engaging portions are spot welded onto the affixed portions. 
     
     
       5. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each latch has a pair of soldering feet projecting toward each other for soldering to a printed circuit board. 
     
     
       6. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a third housing mounted on the subassembly and defining a mating hole and a pair of springs mounted on the second housing and the third housing, each spring having a plurality of mating portions bent toward the mating hole for electrically connecting with a mating receptacle. 
     
     
       7. electrical connector as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising a shielding shell enclosing the subassembly and the pair of springs, each spring having a grounding portion extending away from the mating hole to contact the shielding shell. 
     
     
       8. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein each spring is formed with a plurality of stabs piercing into the second housing and the third housing. 
     
     
       9. A method of manufacturing an electrical connector, comprising the steps of:
 insert molding a pair of modules each having a respective first housing; 
 providing a pair of latches each having an engaging portion and a metal plate having a pair of affixed portions formed at opposite sides thereof, affixing a pair of latches to two opposite sides of a metal plate; 
 sandwiching the metal plate between the pair of modules; and 
 over molding a second housing with the pair of modules, the affixed portions of the metal plate, and the engaging portions of the pair of latches to form a subassembly. 
 
     
     
       10. The method as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the affixing step comprises latching the pair of latches to a pair of affixed portions of the metal plate. 
     
     
       11. The method as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the affixing step comprises spot welding the pair of latches to a pair of affixed portions of the metal plate. 
     
     
       12. An electrical connector comprising:
 an insulative main housing defining a mating hole forwardly communicating with an exterior in a front-to-back direction, and two rows of slits by two sides of the mating hole in the vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction, and a pair of recesses formed in opposite lateral sides of the housing in a transverse direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction; 
 upper and lower terminal modules oppositely stacked with each other with a metallic plate therebetween in the vertical direction, each of said upper and lower terminal modules including a plurality of terminals integrally retained in an insulator via an insert molding process, each of said terminals defining a front deflectable mating portion and a rear connecting portion in the front-to-back direction; 
 a pair of latches associatively intimately located by two opposite lateral sides of the metallic plate, each of the latches defining a front resilient locking section and a rear connecting section in the front-to-back direction; and 
 an insulative sub-housing integrally retaining the upper and lower terminal modules, the metallic plate and the latches together as a sub-assembly via another insert molding process; wherein 
 in said sub-assembly, the front mating portion and the rear connecting portion of each of the terminals, and the front resilient locking section and the rear connecting section of each of the latches are exposed outside of the sub-housing. 
 
     
     
       13. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the insulative sub-housing is located behind the main housing, and the front deflectable mating portion of each of the terminals is received within the corresponding slit, and the front resilient locking section extends through the corresponding recess into the mating hole. 
     
     
       14. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 12 , further including a pair of spring plates located upon opposite top and bottom surface of the main housing and attached to either the main housing or the sub-housing. 
     
     
       15. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 14 , further including a metallic shielding sleeve surrounding the main housing and the sub-housing, and means for retaining the shielding sleeve to the spring plates for preventing relative moment therebetween along the front-to-back direction. 
     
     
       16. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein a length of each of said spring plates in the front-to-back direction is essentially equal to a sum of those of the main housing and the sub-housing in the front-to-back direction. 
     
     
       17. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the sub-housing and the insulator are overlapped with each other in the front-to-back direction so as to prevent relative movement therebetween in the front-to-back direction. 
     
     
       18. The electrical connector as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the metallic plate defines a first thickness direction along said vertical direction while each of the latches defines a second thickness direction along the transverse section, and the latches are pre-assembled to the metallic plate before the sub-housing is molded with the terminal modules.